The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook [26]
Now it was happening all over again. I had lost Tristan. I was sure of it. He had been one of the constants in my life since moving to Evesham. We went everywhere together. People thought of us as one unit, Tristan and Hailey. His popularity had rubbed off on me. People liked me because Tristan did. They worried about what I thought and copied my hairstyles. I was pretty and smart, but Tristan had been what had made me special. He would never forgive me for what had happened, and I couldn’t even explain it to him without hurting him even more.
I rolled into a ball on the bed. By now the announcement would have been made in classes that everyone was on restriction. Anyone who had thought it was sort of cool that Miss Perfect Kendrick had destroyed the school statue would suddenly be changing their minds. Now my prank was going to cost them their freedom, and that wasn’t going to be appreciated. Not at all.
I didn’t want to run away. That would mean starting all over someplace else. What I wanted to do was disappear, but that wasn’t an option. Neither was turning back time and not getting myself into this situation at all. What had I been thinking? Just like when my mom died, there was no way to change what had happened. I had to get through it. If I got through that, I could get through this. I would do it exactly the same way. I would put my head down and toe the line. I had gotten all wild and crazy for one night, and look where it had gotten me. I was going to follow every rule, guideline, and bylaw. I was going to follow rules that hadn’t even been made yet. I was going to be so good I would make Mother Teresa look like an escapee from a Girls Gone Wild video. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this up to everyone, but I was willing to try.
12
When I walked into history, everyone stopped talking and turned to face me. I ducked my head and slid into my seat next to Kelsie. She had her book open and was pretending to be riveted by the description of the battle of Saratoga. I slid my foot across the aisle and lightly tapped her leg.
“Hey,” I whispered. She looked over, and I saw she was ticked. Not just a little angry but seriously pissed off. I pulled my leg back, my face no doubt registering the shock. I hadn’t thought she would be one of the people who would be mad.
Kelsie leaned over so that no one could overhear us. “I thought we were friends,” she hissed.
“We are,” I said.
Kelsie shook her head like she couldn’t believe a word that came out of my mouth. “Really? Because I would think that if we were friends, you might have thought it was important to share something like that with me. I don’t know. I thought friends told each other stuff. What the hell do I know?” She turned back around and stuffed her nose back in her book.
I slunk down in my seat and did my best to ignore the whispering around me. Ms. Brown walked in and perched on the edge of her desk. She was thin and angular, with a long nose. She reminded me of a heron waiting to pounce. Her gaze swept across the room. She paused at my desk and raised one pencil thin eyebrow in my direction. I could feel her disappointment coming off in waves.
“Hailey, would you and Kelsie like to present first?”
I stood up next to my desk. “Our presentation isn’t done. It’s my fault. Kelsie finished yesterday, and I said I would get my half done last night, but I didn’t.” I sat back down, my cheeks burning.
“That’s unfortunate. I would ask what was important enough to keep you from your studies, but I trust we’ve already discussed that topic enough this morning,” she said.
Someone in the back of the room giggled, but the sound was choked off when Ms. Brown looked over. I could feel Kelsie eyeing me, evaluating what I’d